Why do People Blog: A Q Analysis of Perceptions for Blogging
Keywords:
blog, new media, q-methodAbstract
The purpose of this article is to understand user perceptions of new media formats, in this case blogging. While much of the blog research identifies blogging in terms of blog types, this research identifies user perceptions of why they like to blog. By applying Q-methodology to the blogging process, this research asked bloggers to rank subjective statements of blogging. Factor analyses were then applied to the rankings, which provided three
main user factors (perspectives) of blogging motivations: Memorians, Bonders, and Soap Boxers. These perspectives provide an alternative to traditional views of social media use and categories of subjective media experience.
References
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Buis, L. R., & Carpenter, S. (2009). Health and medical blog content and its relationships with blogger credentials and blog host. Health Communication, 24(8), 703-710. doi:10.1080/10410230903264014
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Brown, S. R. (1993). A primer on Q methodology. Operant Subjectivity, 16(3/4), 91–138.
Chen, G. M. (2015). Why do women bloggers use social media? Recreation and information motivations outweigh engagement motivations. New Media & Society, 17(1), 24–40. http://doi.org/10.1177/1461444813504269
Huang, C.-Y., Shen, Y.-Z., Lin, H.-X., & Chang, S.-S. (2007). Bloggers’ motivations and behaviors: A model. Journal of Advertising Research, 47(4), 472–484. doi: 10.2501/S0021849907070493
Chung, D., & Kim, S. (2007). Blog use among cancer patients and their companions: Uses, gratifications, and predictors of outcomes. Conference Papers -- International Communication Association, 1-35. doi: 10.1002/asi.20751
Chung, D. S., & Kim, S. (2008). Blogging activity among cancer patients and their companions: Uses, gratifications, and predictors of outcomes. Journal of the American Society for Information Science & Technology, 59(2), 297–306. Retrieved from https://www.asist.org/
Cohen, A. A., Levy, M. R., & Golden, K. (1988). Children's uses and gratifications of home VCRs: Evolution or revolution. Communication Research, 15(6), 772-780. doi: 10.1177/009365088015006006
Dimmick, J. W., Sikand, J., & Patterson, S. J. (1994). The gratifications of the household telephone: Sociability, instrumentality, and reassurance. Communication Research, 21(5), 643-663. doi: 10.1177/009365094021005005
Faber, B. (2002). Professional identities what is professional about professional communication? Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 16(3), 306–337. http://doi.org/10.1177/105065190201600303
Froget, J. R. L., Baghestan, A. G., & Asfaranjan, Y. S. (2013). A uses and gratification perspective on social media usage and online marketing. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research, 15(1), 134-145. Retrieved from http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/90424466/uses-gratification-perspective-social-media-usage-online-marketing
Fullwood, C., Nicholls, W., & Makichi, R. (2015). We’ve got something for everyone: How individual differences predict different blogging motivations. New Media & Society, 17(9), 1583–1600. http://doi.org/10.1177/1461444814530248
Garćia Jiménez, A., Cruz López de Ayala Lopez, M., & Gaona Pisionero, C. (2012). A vision of uses and gratifications applied to the study of Internet use by adolescents. Comunicacio y Sociedad, 25(2), 231-254. Retrieved from http://www.unav.es/fcom/communication-society/es/articulo.php?art_id=427
Gil de Zúñiga, H., Lewis, S. C., Willard, A., Valenzuela, S., Lee, J. K., & Baresch, B. (2011). Blogging as a journalistic practice: A model linking perception, motivation, and behavior. Journalism, 12(5), 586–606. http://doi.org/10.1177/1464884910388230
Goh, H. Y., & Wijaya, M. (2008, September 10). Blogging and online friendships: the role of self-disclosure and perceived reciprocity. [Final Year Project (FYP)]. Retrieved October 18, 2015, from http://repository.ntu.edu.sg/handle/10356/1181
Greenberg, B. S. (1974). Gratification of television viewing and their correlations for British children. In J. G. Blumler, & E. Katz (Eds.), The uses of mass communications: Current perspectives on gratifications research (pp. 71-92). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
Ha, L., & James, E. L. (1998). Interactivity reexamined: A baseline analysis of early business web sites. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 42(4), 457. doi: 10.1080/08838159809364462
Harrison, K. (2014). Online negotiations of infertility: Knowledge production in (in)fertility blogs. Convergence: The Journal of Research Into New Media Technologies, 20(3), 337-351. doi:10.1177/1354856514531400
Hassid, J. (2012). Safety valve or pressure cooker? Blogs in Chinese political life. Journal of Communication, 62(2), 212-230. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2012.01634.x
Herring, S. C., Scheidt, L. A., Bonus, S., & Wright, E. (2004). Bridging the gap: A genre analysis of weblogs. Proceedings of the 37th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Press. doi: 10.1109/HICSS.2004.1265271
Herring, S. C., Scheidt, L. A., Bonus, S., & Wright, E. (2005). Weblogs as a bridging genre. Information, Technology, & People, 18(2), 142–171. doi: 10.1108/09593840510601513
Herzog, H. (1940). Professor quiz: A gratification study. In P. F. Lazarsfeld (Ed.), Radio and the printed page (pp. 64-93). New York: Duell, Solan & Pearce.
Huang, C., Shen, Y., Lin, H., & Chang, S. (2007). Bloggers’ motivations and behaviors: A model. Journal of Advertising Research, 47(4), 472–84. doi: 10.1177/1464884910388230
Huffaker, D. A., & Calvert, S. L. (2005). Gender, identity, and language use in teenage blogs. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 10(2), article 1. doi: 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2005.tb00238.x
Ibrahim, Y. (2008). Blogs as the people's archive: The phantom public and virtual presence. Journal of New Communications Research, 3(1), 65-73. Retrieved from http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/1446069/journal_of_new_communications_research_volume_iii
Jin, Y., & Liu, B. (2010). The blog-mediated crisis communication model: Recommendations for responding to influential external blogs. Journal of Public Relations Research, 22(4), 429-455. doi:10.1080/10627261003801420
Johnson, J. L., & Callahan, C. (2013). Minority cultures and social media: Magnifying Garifuna. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 42(4), 319–339. https://doi.org/10.1080/17475759.2013.842608
Johnson, J, & Callahan, C. (2015). Media and identity in the margins: The Garifuna response to social media. The Journal of Social Media in Society, 4(2), 3-35.
Khan, M. A., & Kahn, R. M. (2007). Relationship between demographic characteristics of international students and their mass media use in intercontextual adaptation. Journal of Development Communication, 18, 29–40.
Kim, H. (2008). The phenomenon of blogs and theoretical model of blog use in educational contexts. Computers & Education, 51(3), 1342-1352. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2007.12.005
Krishnaiyer, S. S., Raja Mushahar, R., & Ahmad, N. (2012). Using blogs as a tool to facilitate students' reflection. GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies, 12(3), 939-960. Retrieved from http://ejournal.ukm.my/gema/article/view/1067
Lévy, P. (2000). Kyberkultura. Prague: Karolinum.
Li, D. (2005). Why do you blog: A uses-and-gratifications inquiry into bloggers’ motivations. In Conference Papers -- International Communication Association (pp. 1–1). International Communication Association. Retrieved from https://www.lib.byu.edu/cgi-bin/remoteauth.pl?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=26951341&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Lichtenstein, A., & Rosenfeld, L. (1984). Normative expectations and individual decisions concerning media gratification choices. Communication Research, 11(3), 393-413.
Miller, E., Pole, A., & Bateman, C. (2011). Variation in health blog features and elements by gender, occupation, and perspective. Journal of Health Communication, 16(7), 726-749. doi:10.1080/10810730.2011.551994
Nardi, B., Schiano, D., & Gumbrecht, M. (2004). Blogging as social activity, or, would you let 900 million people read your diary? Proceedings of the 2004 ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work, November 6-10, 2004, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Retrieved September 18, 2015. doi: 10.1145/1031607.1031643
Neubaum, G. (2012). Let's blog about health! Exploring the persuasiveness of HIV blogs compared to informational HIV websites. Health Communication, 30, 872–883. doi:10.1080/10410236.2013.856742
Papacharissi, Z., (2004). The blogger revolution? Audiences as media producers. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, New Orleans.
Petersen, E. J. (2014). Redefining the workplace: The professionalization of motherhood through blogging. Journal of Technical Writing & Communication, 44(3), 277–296. doi: 10.2190/TW.44.3.d
Ross Altarac, S. (2008). Globalization of media: What’s adaptation got to do with it? Conference paper presented at the annual convention of the National Communication Association, San Diego, CA.
Rubin, A., & Bantz, C. (1989). Uses and gratifications of videocassete recorders. In J. Salvaggio & J. Bryant (Eds.), Media use in the information age: Emerging patters of adoption and consumer use (pp. 181-195). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Rubin, A. M., & Perse, E. M. (1987). Audience activity and television news gratifications. Communication Research, 14(1), 58-84. doi: 10.1177/009365087014001004
Ruggiero, T. E. (2000). Uses and gratifications theory in the 21st century. Mass Communication and Society, 3(1), 3–37. doi: 10.1207/S15327825MCS0301_02
Simpson, J. (2013). Identity alignment on an ESOL class blog. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 23(2), 183-201. doi:10.1111/j.1473-4192.2012.00325.x
Statista.com. (2014). Number of blogs worldwide from 2006 to 2011 (in millions). Retrieved from http://www.statista.com/statistics/278527/number-of-blogs-worldwide/
Stavrositu, C., & Sundar, S. S. (2012). Does blogging empower women? Exploring the role of agency and community. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 17(4), 369–386. doi: 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2012.01587.x
Stefanone, M. A., & Chyng-Yang, J. (2007). Writing for friends and family: The interpersonal nature of blogs. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 123-140. doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00389.x
Sysomos.inc. (2010). Inside blog demographics. Retrieved from http://www.sysomos.com/reports/bloggers/
Terblanche, L., & Goodwin-Davey, A. (2013). Academic blogs: A platform for sharing information and disseminating knowledge. Southern African Linguistics & Applied Language Studies, 31(3), 375-387. doi:10.2989/16073614.2013.837611
Trammell, K. D., Tarkowski, A., Hofmokl, J., & Sapp, A. M. (2006). Rzeczpospolita blogów [Republic of Blog]: Examining Polish bloggers through content analysis. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11(3), 702–722. doi: 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2006.00032.x
Vidgen, R., Sims, J., & Powell, P. (2013). Do CEO bloggers build community?. Journal of Communication Management, 17(4), 364-385. doi:10.1108/JCOM-08-2012-0068
Berelson, B. (1949). What "missing the newspaper" means. In P. F. Lazarsfeld, & F. N.Stanton (Eds.), Communication research 1948-1949 (pp. 111-129). New York: Harper.
Blumler, J. G. (1979). The role of theory in uses and gratifications studies. Communication Research, 6, 9-36. doi: 10.1177/009365027900600102
Buis, L. R., & Carpenter, S. (2009). Health and medical blog content and its relationships with blogger credentials and blog host. Health Communication, 24(8), 703-710. doi:10.1080/10410230903264014
Brown, S. R. (1980). Political Subjectivity: Applications of Q Methodology in Political Science. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Brown, S. R. (1993). A primer on Q methodology. Operant Subjectivity, 16(3/4), 91–138.
Chen, G. M. (2015). Why do women bloggers use social media? Recreation and information motivations outweigh engagement motivations. New Media & Society, 17(1), 24–40. http://doi.org/10.1177/1461444813504269
Huang, C.-Y., Shen, Y.-Z., Lin, H.-X., & Chang, S.-S. (2007). Bloggers’ motivations and behaviors: A model. Journal of Advertising Research, 47(4), 472–484. doi: 10.2501/S0021849907070493
Chung, D., & Kim, S. (2007). Blog use among cancer patients and their companions: Uses, gratifications, and predictors of outcomes. Conference Papers -- International Communication Association, 1-35. doi: 10.1002/asi.20751
Chung, D. S., & Kim, S. (2008). Blogging activity among cancer patients and their companions: Uses, gratifications, and predictors of outcomes. Journal of the American Society for Information Science & Technology, 59(2), 297–306. Retrieved from https://www.asist.org/
Cohen, A. A., Levy, M. R., & Golden, K. (1988). Children's uses and gratifications of home VCRs: Evolution or revolution. Communication Research, 15(6), 772-780. doi: 10.1177/009365088015006006
Dimmick, J. W., Sikand, J., & Patterson, S. J. (1994). The gratifications of the household telephone: Sociability, instrumentality, and reassurance. Communication Research, 21(5), 643-663. doi: 10.1177/009365094021005005
Faber, B. (2002). Professional identities what is professional about professional communication? Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 16(3), 306–337. http://doi.org/10.1177/105065190201600303
Froget, J. R. L., Baghestan, A. G., & Asfaranjan, Y. S. (2013). A uses and gratification perspective on social media usage and online marketing. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research, 15(1), 134-145. Retrieved from http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/90424466/uses-gratification-perspective-social-media-usage-online-marketing
Fullwood, C., Nicholls, W., & Makichi, R. (2015). We’ve got something for everyone: How individual differences predict different blogging motivations. New Media & Society, 17(9), 1583–1600. http://doi.org/10.1177/1461444814530248
Garćia Jiménez, A., Cruz López de Ayala Lopez, M., & Gaona Pisionero, C. (2012). A vision of uses and gratifications applied to the study of Internet use by adolescents. Comunicacio y Sociedad, 25(2), 231-254. Retrieved from http://www.unav.es/fcom/communication-society/es/articulo.php?art_id=427
Gil de Zúñiga, H., Lewis, S. C., Willard, A., Valenzuela, S., Lee, J. K., & Baresch, B. (2011). Blogging as a journalistic practice: A model linking perception, motivation, and behavior. Journalism, 12(5), 586–606. http://doi.org/10.1177/1464884910388230
Goh, H. Y., & Wijaya, M. (2008, September 10). Blogging and online friendships: the role of self-disclosure and perceived reciprocity. [Final Year Project (FYP)]. Retrieved October 18, 2015, from http://repository.ntu.edu.sg/handle/10356/1181
Greenberg, B. S. (1974). Gratification of television viewing and their correlations for British children. In J. G. Blumler, & E. Katz (Eds.), The uses of mass communications: Current perspectives on gratifications research (pp. 71-92). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.
Ha, L., & James, E. L. (1998). Interactivity reexamined: A baseline analysis of early business web sites. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 42(4), 457. doi: 10.1080/08838159809364462
Harrison, K. (2014). Online negotiations of infertility: Knowledge production in (in)fertility blogs. Convergence: The Journal of Research Into New Media Technologies, 20(3), 337-351. doi:10.1177/1354856514531400
Hassid, J. (2012). Safety valve or pressure cooker? Blogs in Chinese political life. Journal of Communication, 62(2), 212-230. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2012.01634.x
Herring, S. C., Scheidt, L. A., Bonus, S., & Wright, E. (2004). Bridging the gap: A genre analysis of weblogs. Proceedings of the 37th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Press. doi: 10.1109/HICSS.2004.1265271
Herring, S. C., Scheidt, L. A., Bonus, S., & Wright, E. (2005). Weblogs as a bridging genre. Information, Technology, & People, 18(2), 142–171. doi: 10.1108/09593840510601513
Herzog, H. (1940). Professor quiz: A gratification study. In P. F. Lazarsfeld (Ed.), Radio and the printed page (pp. 64-93). New York: Duell, Solan & Pearce.
Huang, C., Shen, Y., Lin, H., & Chang, S. (2007). Bloggers’ motivations and behaviors: A model. Journal of Advertising Research, 47(4), 472–84. doi: 10.1177/1464884910388230
Huffaker, D. A., & Calvert, S. L. (2005). Gender, identity, and language use in teenage blogs. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 10(2), article 1. doi: 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2005.tb00238.x
Ibrahim, Y. (2008). Blogs as the people's archive: The phantom public and virtual presence. Journal of New Communications Research, 3(1), 65-73. Retrieved from http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/1446069/journal_of_new_communications_research_volume_iii
Jin, Y., & Liu, B. (2010). The blog-mediated crisis communication model: Recommendations for responding to influential external blogs. Journal of Public Relations Research, 22(4), 429-455. doi:10.1080/10627261003801420
Johnson, J. L., & Callahan, C. (2013). Minority cultures and social media: Magnifying Garifuna. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 42(4), 319–339. https://doi.org/10.1080/17475759.2013.842608
Johnson, J, & Callahan, C. (2015). Media and identity in the margins: The Garifuna response to social media. The Journal of Social Media in Society, 4(2), 3-35.
Khan, M. A., & Kahn, R. M. (2007). Relationship between demographic characteristics of international students and their mass media use in intercontextual adaptation. Journal of Development Communication, 18, 29–40.
Kim, H. (2008). The phenomenon of blogs and theoretical model of blog use in educational contexts. Computers & Education, 51(3), 1342-1352. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2007.12.005
Krishnaiyer, S. S., Raja Mushahar, R., & Ahmad, N. (2012). Using blogs as a tool to facilitate students' reflection. GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies, 12(3), 939-960. Retrieved from http://ejournal.ukm.my/gema/article/view/1067
Lévy, P. (2000). Kyberkultura. Prague: Karolinum.
Li, D. (2005). Why do you blog: A uses-and-gratifications inquiry into bloggers’ motivations. In Conference Papers -- International Communication Association (pp. 1–1). International Communication Association. Retrieved from https://www.lib.byu.edu/cgi-bin/remoteauth.pl?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=26951341&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Lichtenstein, A., & Rosenfeld, L. (1984). Normative expectations and individual decisions concerning media gratification choices. Communication Research, 11(3), 393-413.
Miller, E., Pole, A., & Bateman, C. (2011). Variation in health blog features and elements by gender, occupation, and perspective. Journal of Health Communication, 16(7), 726-749. doi:10.1080/10810730.2011.551994
Nardi, B., Schiano, D., & Gumbrecht, M. (2004). Blogging as social activity, or, would you let 900 million people read your diary? Proceedings of the 2004 ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work, November 6-10, 2004, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Retrieved September 18, 2015. doi: 10.1145/1031607.1031643
Neubaum, G. (2012). Let's blog about health! Exploring the persuasiveness of HIV blogs compared to informational HIV websites. Health Communication, 30, 872–883. doi:10.1080/10410236.2013.856742
Papacharissi, Z., (2004). The blogger revolution? Audiences as media producers. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, New Orleans.
Petersen, E. J. (2014). Redefining the workplace: The professionalization of motherhood through blogging. Journal of Technical Writing & Communication, 44(3), 277–296. doi: 10.2190/TW.44.3.d
Ross Altarac, S. (2008). Globalization of media: What’s adaptation got to do with it? Conference paper presented at the annual convention of the National Communication Association, San Diego, CA.
Rubin, A., & Bantz, C. (1989). Uses and gratifications of videocassete recorders. In J. Salvaggio & J. Bryant (Eds.), Media use in the information age: Emerging patters of adoption and consumer use (pp. 181-195). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Rubin, A. M., & Perse, E. M. (1987). Audience activity and television news gratifications. Communication Research, 14(1), 58-84. doi: 10.1177/009365087014001004
Ruggiero, T. E. (2000). Uses and gratifications theory in the 21st century. Mass Communication and Society, 3(1), 3–37. doi: 10.1207/S15327825MCS0301_02
Simpson, J. (2013). Identity alignment on an ESOL class blog. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 23(2), 183-201. doi:10.1111/j.1473-4192.2012.00325.x
Statista.com. (2014). Number of blogs worldwide from 2006 to 2011 (in millions). Retrieved from http://www.statista.com/statistics/278527/number-of-blogs-worldwide/
Stavrositu, C., & Sundar, S. S. (2012). Does blogging empower women? Exploring the role of agency and community. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 17(4), 369–386. doi: 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2012.01587.x
Stefanone, M. A., & Chyng-Yang, J. (2007). Writing for friends and family: The interpersonal nature of blogs. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 123-140. doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00389.x
Sysomos.inc. (2010). Inside blog demographics. Retrieved from http://www.sysomos.com/reports/bloggers/
Terblanche, L., & Goodwin-Davey, A. (2013). Academic blogs: A platform for sharing information and disseminating knowledge. Southern African Linguistics & Applied Language Studies, 31(3), 375-387. doi:10.2989/16073614.2013.837611
Trammell, K. D., Tarkowski, A., Hofmokl, J., & Sapp, A. M. (2006). Rzeczpospolita blogów [Republic of Blog]: Examining Polish bloggers through content analysis. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11(3), 702–722. doi: 10.1111/j.1083-6101.2006.00032.x
Vidgen, R., Sims, J., & Powell, P. (2013). Do CEO bloggers build community?. Journal of Communication Management, 17(4), 364-385. doi:10.1108/JCOM-08-2012-0068
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